The Pleasant Valley Drive-in Theatre, located at 47 River Road in Barkhamsted, as seen in March. The drive-in has raised enough funds to bring its outdated film projectors in line with the film industry's switch to digital. less

The Pleasant Valley Drive-in Theatre, located at 47 River Road in Barkhamsted, as seen in March. The drive-in has raised enough funds to bring its outdated film projectors in line with the film industry's ... more

Like many old and independent theaters in the country, the Pleasant Valley Drive-In was facing the threat of closure due to the film industry’s switch to digital. Starting this year, most film distributors in the country began only disseminating movies in digital format, leaving theaters with old-fashioned projectors with no new films to show. Drive-ins had a longer grace period than indoor theaters to convert, because their openings are traditionally in the summer.

Since last year, McGrane had been trying to find a way to the digital upgrades she needed but couldn’t afford. The local drive-in did not win one of the digital projectors donated through Honda’s “Project Drive-in” contest in 2013.

The cost of digital projectors is upwards of $75,000, and with the drive-in theater lacking that type of cashflow, McGrane was in jeopardy having to close in the near future, a grim prospect for many who have enjoyed the drive-in since it first opened in 1947.

The McGranes raised nearly $21,000, enough to put a down payment on the projectors, McGrane told the Courant. The majority of the money was raised in a fund-raising event in Winsted on April 19. The rest were contributions send to the drive-in’s bank account.

“It’s more than a night out at the movies,” McGrane told the Register Citizen earlier this year. She has run the Barkhamsted drive-in with her husband, Tim, for nearly two decades. “It’s a whole experience.”

In a previous interview with the Register Citizen, Travis Lipinski, 32, of Torrington, described how he grew up going to the drive-in.

“It’s a mom-and-pop business. There’s nothing that means family more than going to a drive-in,” said Lipinski.

In a Facebook post from April 22, Lipinski thanked the community for support in raising $15,000 to put down on the new projection equipment at the April 19 event, which included dinner, drinks and a pair of auctions.

“They will be open this season!” Lipinski wrote.

Couples from across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York have visited the drive-in, looking to rekindle memories of past dates. The drive-in usually opens in April or May, depending on weather, and has space for up to 200 cars.

McGrane purchased the drive-in from a family friend 18 years ago after he feared construction of movie theater in Winsted would cut into business.

Her husband, already busy running a family-owned restaurant, told his wife she’d have to partner with someone to split startup costs.

McGrane found a young willing investor, but after a year, she bought him out when they couldn’t agree on the drive-in’s target audience.

“There was too much of a generation gap,” McGrane said in a previous interview. “I wanted it to be a family place; he wanted it to be a teenager hangout. So I bought it twice, really.”

The projectors represented the most recent financial hurdle for McGrane, who said she keeps the business afloat more for “sentimental value” than hopes of turning a profit. She said up to 90 percent of ticket sales go to pay movie companies and overhead.

The family’s cut from concessions usually goes to pay rent and is funneled back into maintaining the facility.